Curtain set to open on school’s Cultural Center

Friday

Not many would think to look for a Broadway-class theater in this bucolic community, but then much of what happens on the Eagle Hill School campus is a well-kept secret.

That’s all about to change when the $15 million Cultural Center opens next month about the same time that students return to campus.

Headmaster Peter J. “P.J.” McDonald said he has been blessed in his leadership of the boarding school for students with learning disabilities, overseeing the transformation of Eagle Hill from “camp to campus.”

The Cultural Center marks the school’s seventh building project in the past decade.

“At times I feel more like a project manager than a headmaster, but these changes were essential if we were to continue to provide our students with the most complete educational experience possible,” Mr. McDonald said.

“This building not only adds whole new dimensions in the opportunities we provide our students, but greatly increases our ability to reach out to the Central Massachusetts community for cultural events throughout the year,” he said.

This week scores of workers under the direction of Jeff Navin, project executive for Consigli Construction Co., of Milford, were busy completing tasks from bulldozing earth to prepare for landscaping, to painting walls, laying flooring and finishing up mostly cosmetic items.

The headmaster said that what makes the Cultural Center a real success story is that it will be finished two years before the 2010 completion date that was the target when the project was still on the drawing board.

“We were extremely fortunate in our capital campaign, raising most of the money from foundations throughout Central Massachusetts and beyond, as well as from our students’ parents and others,” Mr. McDonald said. “We raised $16.8 million in the past 18 months and did it so quickly we were able to have this building with all of its features two years ahead of schedule.”

The 43,000-square-foot building and surrounding grounds include the 457-seat Abbey theater, the 80-seat Kresge Studio Theater, a 500-seat dining and function hall, art exhibition spaces, classrooms and computer labs for visual and graphic arts, a music classroom and recording studio, a 2,000-square-foot woodworking and set-making shop, 900 square feet of art studio space, reception areas, an outdoor patio and an outdoor amphitheater.

“The Cultural Center is a celebration of the arts and education coming together in three components. First and foremost, it’s for our students, whether they’re acting on the stage, building the sets, marketing shows and accounting for the center’s finances. They will be involved in all facets of the Cultural Center and it will complement what they are learning in the classroom,” Mr. McDonald said.

Beyond that, he said, the school expects the new building to become a cultural destination for people from Worcester to Amherst in providing a venue for concerts, plays, speeches and art exhibits, providing “something for everyone” at one time or another, and parking on campus for 200 cars.

Sean Hunley, Cultural Center director, said that a host of events have already been scheduled for both the Abbey Theater and the Kresge Studio Theater.

“Our goal is to keep ticket prices within a range that allows people in Hardwick and the surrounding communities, to come often. Like any performing arts center, we don’t want to lose money. By the same token, no one at Eagle Hill looks at this as a cash cow.”

Mr. McDonald said the building will also factor in Eagle Hill’s teacher-training program.

“This summer on campus we trained new teachers from Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Fitchburg and Framingham school districts and now with the Cultural Center we’ll be able to expand that program.”

Providing there are no last-minute glitches, Mr. McDonald said, he expects the building to be ready for staff and students on Sept. 8 and classes there the following day.

He’s optimistic Sept. 8 will be a firm date from the general contractor, Consigli Construction, given that the building also houses the school’s state-of-the-art kitchen and college-style dining commons.

Mr. McDonald said there will be an open house and opening production for the Eagle Hill community Oct. 25, and an open house for the public Nov. 1 with a performance by jazz and pop vocalist Jane Monheit.

Speaking for the Gilbert Players, Linda Tomasi said the facilities of the Cultural Center represent a dream come true for any community theater.

“This is like walking down 42nd Street and walking into any theater and putting on a show,” she said, acknowledging that the state-of-the-art sound, lighting, set and cueing equipment “raises the bar” for the local players.

“We’re all used to a much smaller stage and making do when it comes to sound and lighting. Now we have a Broadway-size stage, all the bells and whistles, and that raises everyone’s expectations,” she said.

The local players group will stage the musical “Anything Goes” the last two weekends of November.

The Cultural Center was designed by Lamoureux Pagano Associates of Worcester.

With a waiting list as long as this fall’s incoming class, the headmaster said Eagle Hill is fully enrolled and is seemingly immune from the impact the sluggish economy is having on public schools and other private schools.